On 30th May, my friend Alice McLoughlin died in her sleep at home in Dublin. I first met Alice in 1994 when, as a young student photographer, I shot my first photo story in Fatima Mansions. Alice was outside her flat cleaning the windows while her mother Kitty sat on the wall smoking cigarette after cigarette. In 2006, Alice featured in Farewell Fatima, a documentary I made with Filmbase about returning to Fatima and reconnecting with some of the people in the old photographs.
Alice was a great storyteller; dramatic, theatrical, honest and articulate. When I brought her a copy of the film and a card with a picture of the crew, signed by all of us, she was delighted. And we both cried at the nostalgia of it all when we watched the film together. She will be missed, not least by Shadow, her dog but also by all who knew her, learned from her, laughed with her and loved her.
Watched the original movie which was fantastic. Sorry to hear about Alice..... you've touched many with your photos and long my that continue...
hi Kim i am Alice's niece, that was a lovely piece that you have written about Alice,, she is truly missed by us all, she was like a second mother to us, Shadow has gone to a good home a home Alice would have wanted him to go to..
Thank you Kim, for your kind words and for the work you put into the original project and the follow up documentary. My Aunt Alice was both delighted and extremely proud to have been a part of it, for it gave her the chance to voice her opinion on one of her favorite subjects!
We cannot verbalise the magnitude of the void left in our lives in the wake of losing Alice. We are however, very grateful that you have helped her leave a lasting legacy to us, her family, that we may access whenever we want reminding of what a wonderfully articulate and passionate person she was. Keep up the good work.
Kind regards,
Michelle Cronin.